Trump Orders Birthright Citizenship Restrictions, Defies Supreme Court

President Trump signed two executive orders Thursday targeting birthright citizenship and commercial birth tourism, marking his second attempt to circumvent the 14th Amendment after the Supreme Court rejected his broader Inauguration Day order on June 30. The orders narrow citizenship eligibility for children born to foreign diplomatic staff, individuals classified as alien enemies or members of federally declared terrorist groups, those born in U.S. territories if Congress changes the law, and children born to mothers who “deceptively” enter the country specifically to give birth at commercial centers.

Trump’s administration contends these orders operate within existing constitutional exceptions to the 14th Amendment, claiming the Supreme Court’s June 30 decision still permits targeting birthright citizenship under long-recognized categories. The birth-tourism order weaponizes the concept of “fraudulent misrepresentation,” arguing that mothers who expressly and deceptively enter the U.S. for childbirth forfeit birthright protections, similar to revoking naturalized citizenship obtained by fraud. A second order directs the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to issue rules combating birth tourism domestically and abroad, despite U.S. law already prohibiting tourist visas obtained primarily for childbirth purposes.

Congressional Republicans frame birth tourism as a national security threat, with the House Oversight Committee investigating the industry in May and citing concerns that foreign expectant mothers from China and Russia present “potential national security and election integrity threats posed by adversarial nations.” Trump has personalized the issue, attacking wealthy foreign nationals and framing birthright citizenship as an undeserved privilege being exploited for profit, stating on Truth Social that birthright citizenship should not apply to “rich people from China” seeking to make their children U.S. citizens “FOR PAY.”

Legal experts including University of Virginia immigration law professor Amanda Frost rejected Trump’s framing, arguing that if birth tourism represents a genuine policy concern, enforcement of existing regulations suffices without dismantling birthright citizenship protections. The orders face certain legal challenges identical to those that eliminated Trump’s first executive order, as the 14th Amendment’s plain language grants citizenship to all persons born in the United States regardless of parental status. Trump has already demanded the Supreme Court grant him a rehearing after the court rejected his initial birthright citizenship order, exposing his pattern of defying judicial decisions that constrain his authority.

Estimates of children born through birth tourism range from thousands to tens of thousands, though congressional Republicans lack concrete evidence linking the practice to election interference or security breaches. The administration’s targeting of birth tourism through executive order, combined with its resistance to the Supreme Court’s June 30 ruling, demonstrates Trump’s commitment to expanding executive power over citizenship determinations regardless of constitutional limitations.

(Source: https://www.axios.com/2026/08/06/trump-birth-tourism-birthright-citizenship)